third sector Government

Not-for-profit ATO information pack released

Pearl Dy November 5, 2019

2 min read

The Australian Taxation Office has developed an information pack for the not-for-profit clubs and associations industry to help all employers work out what they need to do.

This comes with the information that employers in the not-for-profit clubs and associations industry may have challenges related to reporting closely held payees such as family members, or are micro employers with 1-4 employees.

More than 470,000 employers across the country are already reporting through STP. The ATO understands there may be challenges for some employers. All employers operate in slightly different ways and every industry has unique differences that can affect their payroll processes.

ATO Assistant Commissioner Jason Lucchese, said the ATO wants to support employers to ensure they know what their next step is to get ready for STP.

“The not-for-profit clubs and associations sector is unique when it comes to payroll process and we want to ensure they are properly supported through the transition to STP, whether that’s with information to help them understand what their options are or providing concessions to give them more time to get ready,” Lucchese said.

“We know there are several challenges for not-for-profit clubs and associations employers such as employing between 1-4 employers, or having no access to a reliable internet connection which is the case for many regional or remotely located school parent associations or local sporting clubs. We also recognise that a lot of clubs and associations are also family run and currently have processes in place if they employ family members that might be complicated by STP,” he said.

According to Lucchese, it’s easy to get started because of a range of resources on the ATO website to show NFPs what options are available. They are also taking a soft touch approach for the first year with no penalties for missed or late reports.

Jackie Lane, Office Manager at Direct Management, VIC, urged businesses to update to STP as soon as possible.

“Since transitioning we’ve found it to be very easy to use with only one extra action to take after each pay run. It’s great that QuickBooks prompts the user after each pay run to send the data to the ATO, so it can’t be forgotten. Even while the payroll is lodging, other work can be done, so it’s no extra hassle for us.

“We are happy with the update and are already introducing STP to our clients at the moment. Most of them are finding it easy to do as well, so our advice to other businesses is to update as soon as possible,” she said.

Not-for-profit clubs and associations employers may be eligible for STP reporting concessions if they have closely held payees like employing family members may not be paid regularly. Closely held payees don’t need to be reported through STP in FY 2019/20 but can be reported quarterly through an STP-enable solution. Employ between 1-4 employees or micro employers may be able to choose a no-cost or low-cost STP solution or report quarterly through a registered tax or BAS agent.

Employers in not-for-profit clubs and associations can find more information in the Not-for-profit clubs and associations STP Information Pack.

Pearl Dy

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Pearl Dy is a community manager and journalist. She is passionate about business and development particularly involving not-for-profits, charity and social entrepreneurship.

Not-for-profit ATO information pack released

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